Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



No. 646,443. Patented Apr. 3, |900. T. F. MAGUIRE & R. E. GLOVER.

MAIL BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

2 Sheets-Sheet l,

(Application filed Aug. 22 189B. Renewed Feb. 24, 1900.) (No Model.)

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No. 646,443. Patented Apr. 3, |900. T. F. MAGUIRE & R. E. GLOVER.

. MAIL BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

(Application led Aug. 22, 1898. Renewed Feb. 24, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

'2. NEI-a PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS FERRALL MAGUIRE AND ROBERT ED\VARD GLOVER, OF' PORTS- MOUTH, VIRGINIA.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters lfatent No. 646,443, dated April 3, 1900. Application iiledAngnst 2 2, 1898. Renewed February 24, 1900. Serial No. 6,412. (No-model.)

To LZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS FERRALL MA- GUIRE and ROBERT EDWARD GLOVER, residing at Portsmouth, in the county 'of Norfolk and State of Virginia,have invented a new 4and useful Improvement in Mail-Bag Catch- .Vation of our improvements. Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section on about line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail top plan View of 'l the bag-catcher, partly in section. Fig. 5 is a detail perspectiveview of the stop-collar on the standard.

Figs. 6 and7 are topplan views of the stopplate for the standard, the standard and stopcollar being shown in Fig. '7. Fig Sis aside View of the upper portion of the-standard'. Fig. 9 vis adetail view illustrating the seat for the swinging arm. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the staple on the swinging arm, the latter being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 1l fis a detail view illustrating one of the ring-holders andthe support therefor on the standard. Fig. 12 illustrates in perspective the bag-suspending link. Fig. 13 is a detail cross-section on about line 13 13 of Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a top plan view, partly in section, illustrating the pivot-plate for the swinging arm and the base-plate or holder for same; and Fig. 15 is a detail cross-section on about line 15 15 of Fig. 14.

In carrying out our invention we provide in the car and on the land alongside the track means for delivering and receiving the mailbag, so the same device in the car may deliver the package of mail to and receive a package of mail from a similar device on the track or land adjacent to the track, the construction of which will be described in detail.

One feature of our invention consists in a vertically-swinging arm A, pivotally supported at one end in the car adjacent to the alongside the moving train and to deliver a mail-bag to a suitable receiver alongside the moving train. This arm, as-will be understood, swings through the open doorway, and to'provide .for its use at either side of the car we connect its pivoted end detachably with the car, so it may be shifted from side to side to operateth rough either doorway. out this feature of our invention we provide the arm A at its inner-end with a shaft A', rigid with the' arm A and pvoted ina pivotplate rA2 and engaged, by springs `Ai, which aid in vlifting the arm A in the'operation of the device, such springs being engaged with the pivot-plate A2 and with .the shaft A and heldby the end caps and nuts, as Will be understood from Fig. 14. The pivot-plate has in the box-loop B on the base-plate B', the otherend of the pivot-plate being held to the base-plate bythe set screw or screws B2, as will beunderstood from Figs.` l-l and l5. This construction permits the ready removal of the pivot-plate from one of the base-plates B and its application to the other one of such baseplates. In this connection it shouldbe understood that we provide in the carin proper plates B, so the arm may be shifted'from side to side, the two base-plates being shown in Fig. l ofthe drawings.

In the car adjacent to each doorway we provide a seat-plate C for the swinging arm, the construction of which plate is best shown in Fig. 9, from which it will be seenthe plate has in its upper face a recess O to receive the arm, one side of whichis lined with the leather or other cushion to ease the blow as the arm catches a bag from the holder alongside the moving train. A latch D, pivoted at D and having a treadle D2, is arranged to engage with the arm, preferably with' astaple D"s thereon, the latch being actuated by a spring I)4 or a weight D5, or both, into engagement with the staple Dfi, the head D6 being beveled so the staple may move into engagement with the latch, as will be understood from Fig. 9. As the swinging armv is lowered into operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, it will be In carrying .at one end a projecting portion A4,;which fits 8.o l Y relation to the opposite doorway these baselOO engaged and held by the latch I), and yet may be readily released when desired by simply pressing on the handle D2 with the foot. It is manifest that the springs A3 may be adjusted to vary the tension on the arm A. At its outer end the arm A is provided with the receiver E and the discharger F, the former being i-n the nature of a fork which opens toward one end of the car, while the latter is in the nature of a clasp opening toward the opposite end of the car, so the dscharger and receiver may be referred to as facing in opposite directions. The receiver E has tines c, which converge inwardly and have between their inner ends a recess E', which is guarded by the spring-actuated tongue E2. The rear wall of the recess E is provided with a horizontal groove E3, which receivesa rub'ber `or other cushioning-strip E4, which projects slightly into the recess E and abuts at its ends against shoulders E5, which hold it steadily to its place. This cushion receives the` blow of the ring caught by the receiver, and so eases the jar and avoids injury and wear of the parts.

The clasp F has the spring-jaws F2 to receive the ring connected with the mail-sack which is to be delivered from the car, and such clasp may preferably be swiveled to its support, as indicated at F2, so it may turn slightly in lowering the arm out of the car, and thus prevent any ytwisting of the bagsupportingring in adjustingthe devices from within the car to adposition for use, as shown in Fig. 1. i

We have so far described the devices arranged on the car and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in connection with thoseon the land, and be# forepassi ng to a description of the parts on the land it may be well to say that in practice we prefer to support the mail-bag to bereceived by and to he discharged from the devices on the car before described by means of a ring G and a link H, the ring G being a continuous ring, which may, if desired, be flattened slightly where it enters the clasp, while the link H is made insections H', which are pivoted together at H2, have overlapping portions H3 at their lower ends and overlapping portions H4 at their upper ends. The lower overlapping portions H3 are upturned at their extremities and are preferably broadened on their upper sides and rounded on such edges to furnish a broad bearing for the bag to avoid injury thereto and are channeled on their under sides to reduce weight. These links are suspended from the rings and are adapted to be opened to permit their application to the rings and to properly receive and hold the mail-bag, as will be understood from the drawings.

The devices on the land include an upright shaft I, journaled at I in a supporting-bearing and at I2 in a guide or steady bearing in a suitable framing I2. The lower guide-bearing I2 consists of a collar-like plate secured to the framing and having an openingin which the shaft I is loosely fitted. The bearing I includes a stop-plate J, secured on the framing, provided with an opening J' for the shaft and an upwardly-projecting collar J2, which is provided with diaxnetrically-opposite depressions or notches J3, such notches J3 extending, preferably, down into the body of the plate. Latches K are also pivoted to the plate J at KQ preferably to lugs K2, the latches K being spaced apart and adapted to receive between them a lug L on the stopcollarL,presentlydescribed. I/Vheredesired, the latches K may be arranged at both sides of the plate J, as will be understood from the full-line and dotted-lineillustration in Fig. 7. The stop-collar L is secured on the shaft I and bears upon the iiange J2, being provided on its under side with depending teeth L2, which enter the notches J3, and having the lug Ll to engage and be stopped by one or the other of the latches K. A stop-collarI4 is secured upon the shaft I below the plate'J and limits the upwardA movement of the shaft, per mitting sufficient movement of the shaft for the teeth L2 to escape from the notches J2, as will be understood from what follows. If the parts be in the position shown in Fig. 7 and the upper latch K be thrown back and the shaft be. turned in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in Fig. `7, the lug L' will strike against the lower latch K and be stopped thereby, and a similar operation will result if. the. lower latch K be thrown bach` opposite the moving train and be stopped in y such position. This result may to acertain extent be4 accomplished by the teeth L2 and the notches J3 or by the latches K alone; but it is preferred to use both said constructions, because the latch K positively stops the shaft in the desired position and the teeth L2 andV notches J3 serve to prevent any rebound of the shaft. Y

On the shaft I we provide the bagreceivers M M `and the bag-dischargers N N, thereceivers M being similar to the receiver E, before described, and the dischargers N being similar to the discharger F, except that they need not be swiveled. The dischargers N are arranged above the receivers M and are preferably supported on a radial arm N, being secured thereto in the manner illustrated in Fig. 11. ceivers and the dischargers on the shaft I in pairs, projectingin opposite directions, as will be understood from Fig. 2.

In the practical operation of our invention the shaft I is so arranged relatively to the track and to the receiving and discharging devices on the arln A that the inner tine of the receivers M on the shaft I, the dischargers on said shaft, the discharger on the arm It is preferred` to provide the re-Y IIO A, and the outer tine of the receiver on the arm A all 'lie in a common vertical plane, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that if a bag be suspended on the discharger of the arm A and one on thev proper discharger of the shaft I, such discharger being indicated by X in Fig. 2, and the car be moving in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in such figure the outer tine of the receiver of the arm A will strip the bag-supporting ring from said discharger X and deliver said ring into the recess E cf the receiverE, and at the same time the discharger on said arm A will deliver its bag-supporting ring to the tine of the shaft I, (indicated by Z in Fig. 2.) This delivery of the bag to said receiver will operate to give the shaft I a half-revolution, throwing the bag supported on said shaft away from the track, when the bag can be removed with safety and the shaft be readjusted to position for use, the stop and latch devices vbefore described operating to stop the shaft in proper position for use and avoiding any errorin setting the bag to be caught bythe train or the receiving devices to properly take the bagy from said train. The double arrangement of latches K (indicated in Fig. 7 and before 'described) may be useful whenthe shaft I is supported between two tracks and is designed to voperate in connection with devices on trains operating on both such tracks. I/Ve make the rings G large enough to compensate for slight differences in alinemen't of the receiving and discharging devices, as may result fromy the..

oscillationsv of the cars.

It will be understood that the arm A not*` only operates to receive the bag from the dischargers on the shaft I, but also to deliverv such bag by the raising ofthe arm into the car.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the swinging arm, the pivot-plate towhich said arm is connected, the base-plate having a box-loop to receive a portionl of the pivot-plate and the set screw or screws coperating with said boxloop in securing the pivot-plate substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus substantially as described, a receiver consisting of a fork having tines xed with relation to each other and converging toward their inner ends and provided at such ends with a recess to receive the bag-supporting ring and in advance of such recess with a latch by which to secure said ring when in the recess, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus substantially as described, a receiver having a recess for the bag-supporting ring and provided therein with a cushion to receive the blow of the entering-ring, and means for securing the ring in said recess, substantially as set forth.

et. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination of the swinging arm adapted to be lowered through the car-doorway and latch devices for securing the arm when so lowered, such latch devices operating independently of the action of thebag on the arln whereby such bag will not release the latch substantially as set forth.

5. In an apparatus substantially as' described, the combination of the swinging arm a seat-plate adapted to receive said arm when loweredand provided with a cushion forsaid arm said' cushion being arranged in rear of the path in' which said arm'swings whereby it will receive the back jar of the arm in receiving a bag and means on the arm for receiving and discharging the bag substantially as set forth.

6. The combination substantially as described, of the swinging arm, the seat-plate therefor, having a recess to receive the arm and a cushion at one side of said recess and latch devices on the said seat-plate for securing the arm when lowered, substantially as set forth.

7. In an apparatus substantially as dethe plate to which said arm is pivoted, the base-plate, means whereby the pivot-plateis detachably held to the base-plate, the' seatplate` having a recess for the'arm, alatch for securing the arm, and bag receiving and dis-A base-platehaving a bearing for said shaft and notches in its upper side, the stop-col-v lar on the shaft having teeth entering such notches 4and means for limiting the endwise movement of the sbaft,'substantially as set forth. y y' 9; The combination of the shaft provided witha` means for handling the mail-bag, the

1 base-plate in which said shaft is journaled,

the collar or flange thereon having notches, the collar on lthe shaft having teethentering said notches anda projectinglug, andlatches arranged in the path of said lug, substantially as set forth.

lO. The combination of the shaft, the baseplate in which said shaft is journaled, the

lat-ches on said plate movable independently4 into and out of operative position and the lug on the shaft coperating with said latches,sub stantially as set forth.

1l. In an apparatus substantially as described, a link composed of sections pivoted scribed, the combination of the swinging arm, A

ICO

'IIO

together and adapted to embrace and secure f a bag and having the lower overlapping portions of said sections broadened laterally to furnish a proper bearing for the bag, substantially as set forth.

12. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination of the shaft, the guide-bearing for the lower end thereof, the plate having the pivoted latches spaced apart and provided with the notches or recesses, the collar on the shaft havin g teeth entering such notches and provided with a radial lng, and the bag receiving and discharging devices on said shaft, substantially as set forth.

13. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination of the bag-securing link made in sections pivoted together at one end and having overlapping portions at one end to secure the bag and at the other end to secure the ring, the ring fitted to said link and devices whereby to support the ring and to release saine, substantially as set forth.

14. The combination in an apparatus substantially as described ofthe upright or shaft,

the bag-receivers supported thereon facingin opposite'directions and having the converging tines, an arin extended from lthe upright and thebag-dischargers swiveledto said arm and arranged in alinement with the receiving-ti nes 0l the bag-receivers substantially as set forth.

THOMAS FERRALL MAGUIRE. ROBERT EDVARD GLOVER.

lVitnesses:

J. C. BURDEN, H. D. JENKINS. 

